Doctor: George Michael ‘Doing Well’

doctor treating George Michael says the British pop star is “doing well” as he recovers from pneumonia, but cannot say if he will be able to spend Christmas at home. Christoph Zielinski said “we know that he is doing well and we are generally optimistic” about his recovery. Zielinski said that whether Michael can go home for Christmas “is something that we are not in the position to decide.” He said “that is something that must be decided in consultation with the patient.” The ex-front man for the pop group “Wham” was admitted to Vienna’s AKH hospital late last month after canceling a performance in the Austrian capital.


Debra Messing Splits from Daniel Zelman
Debra Messing and her husband, Daniel Zelman, have parted ways. The pair, who are parents to 7½-year-old son Roman, "privately separated earlier this year after a 10 year marriage," Messing's rep confirmed. "The decision was mutual, and they remain supportive of one another and committed to raising their son as a family." Messing, 43, first met Zelman – now an actor and producer – when they were both students at New York University (and then dated for eight years).  The Emmy-winning Will & Grace actress will next star in NBC's new musical drama Smash.

Rihanna Slams Magazine for "Disrespectful," "Desperate" Racial Slur

Just days after Rihanna tweeted about a confrontation she had with a tighty-whities-clad bigot at a hotel in Portugal, she's taking a stand over another prejudiced party. On Monday, the Barbadian chanteuse slammed the editor of popular Dutch fashion magazine Jackie, which published an article that referred to her with a combined racist and sexist term, mashing together the n-word and the b-word. Feel free to take a moment to slam your head on your desk and wonder if the world really is going to end in 2012. The piece, translated by Parlour magazine, which also has a screenshot, is accompanied by a photo of Rihanna and is execrable in every way. "Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate [n-word][b-word]," it reads, before implying that she's from Jamaica and casually calling her caboose a "ghetto a--." RiRi was not pleased.  "I hope u can read english," she railed to Jackie Editor-in-Chief Eva Hoeke on Twitter, "because your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!! You ran out of legit, civilized information to print!" Notes Rihanna, "There are 1000's of Dutch girls who would love to be recognized for their contributions to your country, you could have given them an article. Instead, u paid to print one degrading an entire race! That's your contribution to this world! To encourage segregation, to mislead the future leaders to act in the past!" And then she really picked up steam. "You put two words together, with the intent of abasement, that made no sense," the chart-topper fumed. "Well with all respect, on behalf of my race, here are my two words for you ...[BLEEP] YOU!!!" Best as we can tell, the intent of the Jackie piece was to show moms how to dress their daughters like Rihanna, in "pink shizzle and everything that glitters." (Yes, the word "shizzle" was used, a journalistic crime that should result in prison time.) The magazine's editor addressed the controversy on Facebook, insisting the "author meant no harm," and the double-whammy slur "was intended as a joke" (because racism is apparently a rich comedy vein to tap). Acknowledged the editor, "It was naive to think that this was an acceptable form of slang -- you hear it all the time on TV and radio, then your idea of what is normal apparently shifts."

Gerard Butler Rescued After Surfing Accident

Gerard Butler was pulled underwater and dragged over a rocky reef Sunday by a large set of waves while he was filming the surfing movie Of Men and Mavericks in Northern California. The actor, 42, was taken to Stanford Medical Center dazed but not seriously injured, after being rescued by a safety patrolman. Surfer Zach Wormhoudt, who was filming with Butler, told ESPN their group was caught off guard by a set of waves that appeared to come out of nowhere. In March, professional surfer Sion Milosky drowned at the same spot. Butler is expected to make a full recovery.



Kris Humphries Expected To Sign Hefty NBA Deal & More Than Double Previous Salary
As Kris Humphries inches closer to putting his reality show days behind him, Kim Kardashian’s ex is heading back to his original career – basketball – and a hefty payday. the basketball star will likely sign with the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday – for more than double his last reported salary. The team has offered Kris a one-year deal worth about $8 million. His most recent salary was a reported $3.2 million per year. Kris is expected to sign with the team tomorrow after he passes his physical. The Hump has been playing professionally since 2004, when he earned, $1.4 million playing as a rookie with the Utah Jazz. He began playing for the Nets in 2009, earning a reported $2.9 million.

Dave Haywood Engaged to Kelli Cashiola

Dave Haywood wrapped up his Christmas shopping early – and even got a jump on Santa Claus – surprising girlfriend Kelli Cashiola with a marriage proposal on Monday evening, a rep for the Lady Antebellum musician confirmed. Haywood, 29, made his gal's favorite holiday one she'll never forget by staging an elaborate setup to pop the question. After picking Cashiola – VP of Marketing/Brand Management for Warner Music Nashville – up from her Music Row office, the musician asked her to slip on a blindfold as they turned onto her street. Once inside her home, Cashiola was delighted to discover that while she was at work, Haywood had transformed every room into a sparkling winter wonderland. But it was outside that the reason for the blindfold was revealed – a string of Christmas lights spelled out "Will you marry me?" on the front of the house. As Haywood put the ring on her finger, Cashiola, 29, replied, "Yes!" A date has not been set for the nuptials, though it's presumed it will be after bandmate Hillary Scott's anticipated spring wedding to fiancé Chris Tyrrell. The couple, who have been friends for about five years, publicly revealed their romance last month when they walked the CMA Awards red carpet together, accompanying Scott and Tyrrell, as well as third bandmate Charles Kelly and his wife Cassie McConnell. Lady Antebellum is taking a brief break for the holidays from their tour, which resumes Jan. 27 in Tulsa, Okla. Their Own the Night album is nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album.
 The Lindsay Lohan issue of Playboy magazine seems to be a hit. Hugh Hefner tweeted on Sunday that “The Lindsay Lohan January-February Double Issue is breaking sales records.” Though Playboy isn’t releasing official numbers yet, a spokesperson for the magazine said the issue is doing “very well.” A spokesperson for Hudson News, one of the countries largest chains of newsstands, also didn’t have figures yet, but concurred that “we have noticed excitement in the stores about this issue … so we assume that the issue will do very well.” But will it be a record-breaker? That would be quite a feat, since Playboy sold around 7 million copies per month back in its heydays of the early 1970s. Today, its circulation is closer to 1.5 million. But it’s still feasible to consider that Lohan’s issue might rival other popular Playboys featuring celebrity photo spreads, like the approximately 4 million copies of the 1995 issue that featured Farrah Fawcett. If Lohan does really break Playboy‘s sales records, Hefner might want to think about cutting another million-dollar check for Ms. Lohan. Some of Playboy‘s others best-sellers in the last 10 years featured Cindy Crawford, Katarina Witt, Pam Anderson, and, of course, Marge Simpson.

TV NEWS
Sue Sylvester will meet her match in an upcoming episode of Glee — and if the casting is any indication, it’s going to be a fierce battle for domination. NeNe Leakes, from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, is set to play Roz Washington, the school’s synchronized-swim team coach and Sue’s latest rival. As Gleeks saw in the preview for January episodes, the just-returned Sam (Chord Overstreet) will join the synchronized-swim team in the second half of the season. Leakes has already filmed her first episode and there is no word on what episode she is set to appear in next, according to Fox. Although, Leakes tweeted earlier that she would return to the Glee set after the holidays.


In 2012, HBO will roll out Luck, a new drama from Michael Mann and David Milch that stars Dustin Hoffman; as well as Aaron Sorkin’s series about life behind the scenes of a cable-news show. The network will also premiere Veep, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Girls, Life’s Too Short, and Angry Boys.



So long Hung, Bored to Death, and How To Make It in America! HBO has canceled the sleeper comedies to make way for more fresh programming coming down the pipeline. Hung and Bored each ran for three seasons, and America ran for two. In the meantime, the pay cabler ordered a second season of Enlightened, the Laura Dern starrer that just earned Golden Globe nods for best TV series (comedy/musical) and for best actress.

David Archuleta Announces Plans For Mormon Mission

American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta will take a break from his singing career to serve a two-year proselytizing mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The contestant from the 2007-2008 season made the announcement during a Christmas concert Monday in downtown Salt Lake City, according to the Deseret News. The 20-year-old Miami native, who grew up in Murray, Utah, said he’s not quitting music, but feels a strong call to serve the church. “It’s not because someone told me that I’m supposed to do it, and not because I no longer want to do music, but because it’s the feeling that I’ve felt I need to do this with my life,” Archuleta told the crowd.  Church spokesman Eric Hawkins confirmed that Archuleta had been called on a mission by the faith. Hawkins said he didn’t know when Archuleta was scheduled to report for missionary training. The location of Archuleta’s mission has not been disclosed either by him or church officials.